Chapters 1 and 2

Chapter 1: The sound of the shell

The novel opens with Ralph, a blond 12-year-old boy, finding his way through a jungle towards a beach. He is interrupted in his journey by another boy, roughly the same age, who is fat, asthmatic and continually cleaning his glasses. The reader finds out, through their conversation, that the blond boy is called Ralph. The other boy's name is not discovered, although he reveals that at school he was teased with the name 'Piggy', which Ralph decides to call him as well.

On their way to the beach their conversation shows that they are survivors of a plane crash. They were flying from London to an unspecified destination, apparently being evacuated from a war. They wonder where other people from the aeroplane might be, particularly the adults.

They reach the beach where they strip their clothes off in the heat and swim in the lagoon. Piggy is clearly more anxious about the reality of their situation than Ralph, who is revelling in the freedom and the tropical paradise in which they have found themselves.

The boys discover a large conch shell. Piggy recognises its value and instructs Ralph in how to use it as a trumpet (Piggy cannot do so himself because of his asthma). Ralph starts to blow the conch and in doing so attracts other survivors from the crash, who follow the sound and gather on the beach.

The survivors are all boys, ranging in age from about 5 years old to about 12. They gather about and wait while Piggy takes their names and Ralph continues to blow on the conch. The last group of boys to arrive is a choir. They remain fully dressed in their robes and are moving in formation towards the gathering. They are led by a commanding boy, Jack Merridew, to whom they all show a kind of weary obedience.

Jack is clearly used to having authority over others, so when someone suggests they choose a leader, or 'chief', he is angered and embarrassed by the election of Ralph instead of himself. Ralph appeases him by giving him the choir to command.

There is a large gathering of boys but only some of the older ones are specified by name. There are a set of identical twins called Sam and Eric; a large choir boy called Maurice; a dark, brooding choir boy called Roger; and a thin boy, Simon, who faints in the heat upon first arriving. Other names include Bill, Robert, Harold and Henry - all choir boys.

One of the little boys reluctantly speaks to the meeting, asking what they're going to do about the 'snake-thing'. He tells them he's seen a snake-like 'beastie' in the night. The other boys ridicule him but the power of suggestion is strong in their minds. It seems that some of the boys consider the existence of a snake-like 'beastie' as a possibility.

Ralph suggests a small group explore their surroundings to confirm whether or not they are on an island. He chooses Jack and Simon to accompany him.

The three climb through the jungle to the top of a mountain. They delight in the experience of being free and in their shared sense of dominion over the island and possibly over the small society of boys back on the beach. On their way up the mountain they dislodge a huge boulder and send it crashing into the jungle below. When they reach the summit they confirm that they are on an island and it appears it is uninhabited.

On their way back down, they come across a piglet that is caught in creepers in the jungle. Jack, who has a knife, attempts to kill it for food but is unable to do so after hesitating. The piglet escapes. Jack's pride is deeply wounded; he is angry and embarrassed. He determines that 'next time' there will be 'no mercy'.

The three boys make their way back to the others on the beach.

Chapter 2: Fire on the mountain

The boys get back to the beach and Ralph calls another meeting. He begins by telling the assembled boys what they found on their journey: that they are indeed on an island and that it appears to be uninhabited.

Jack is evidently still embarrassed about not having killed the piglet, because he is boisterous and keeps mentioning the need to hunt. Because of his - and others' - interruptions the boys make up a rule that no one is allowed to speak at meetings unless they are holding the conch shell.

Jack is excited by the idea of making rules and by the possibility of punishing people for breaking them. Once more he displays his love of power over others.

There is a general sense of boyish excitement amongst the boys about being free from adults and having this island paradise to play in. Piggy is exasperated by this, trying to make everyone realise that they need to focus on survival and on getting rescued. Ralph is more successful at communicating this to the other boys because none of them pay Piggy much respect.

Ralph suggests they make a fire on top of the mountain in the hope that a ship or plane might see the smoke and come to their rescue. Instead of remaining to hear what else Ralph has to say, the boys are excited by this idea and run off immediately - following Jack - to build the fire. Only Ralph and Piggy stay on the beach, but soon Ralph follows the others, and Piggy, disgusted by the others' lack of discipline, eventually follows as well.

On the mountain the boys find plenty of dry wood and build a huge pile. Ralph and Jack bond further by lifting a particularly large log together, affirming their strength and male superiority over the other boys.

They are deflated, however, with the realisation that they do not know how to light the fire. Nobody has any matches. When Piggy appears, carrying the conch with him, Jack realises they can use his glasses to light the fire. This is successful only briefly. The fire flares up, exciting them further, but dies down again quickly.

An argument breaks out between Piggy and Jack. Piggy claims he has a right to speak without being interrupted because he is holding the conch. Jack says that the conch doesn't mean anything on the mountain, only on the beach. Piggy appeals to Ralph who confirms that the conch rule holds anywhere, not just on the beach. Ralph says that people should guard the fire always to make sure that it doesn't go out again. Jack says the choir boys will take responsibility for keeping the fire alight.

Piggy starts to lecture the rest of the boys about the need to be more disciplined. While he's speaking he notices a different fire, further down the mountain. It appears this has been lit by sparks from their unsuccessful fire on the mountain. The fire gets out of control and spreads through the jungle, burning up other wood that they could have used. Piggy admonishes them, saying that their irresponsibility has led to the wild fire. He tells them they should have used the wood to build shelters and a fire on the beach.

The other boys continue to show their lack of respect towards Piggy. He has great difficulty getting them to pay attention. They seem to be almost deliriously silly. In the midst of all this Piggy notices that one of the boys - the one who told them about the 'beastie' - has gone missing. He points out that the boy could have been caught in the fire.